Tag Archives: Point-to-point

ONE of the leading voices in the Irish Point to Point scene is Newmarket’s Ger Hannon, who is well known to all those who attend the grass roots events throughout the region. A regular commentator both on the track and on the airwaves, he is among the cohort who are looking forward to having regular race meetings back up and running once more. Following Government advice, point to point racing was halted on January 13 with hopes initially expressed that action could return on March 5. The most recent Government update on Level 5 restrictions put paid to that, with April 5 now being the date after which it is hoped that racing can resume once more between the flags. The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board is understood to be in talks with Horse Racing Ireland aimed at alleviating the backlog of young horses needing a run, and Hannon agrees that the knock-on effect from grass roots level will permeate throughout …

The recent improvement in ground conditions has been welcomed by point-to-point secretary Paul O’Neill who is eagerly looking forward to the County Clare Hunt’s annual Easter Sunday fixture at Quakerstown in Tubber. “We are thrilled that the weather has picked up to allow us run this meeting as a lot of meetings have been lost this season,” stated the Quin man. “The track is in super condition and Gerry Lee who owns the land is a great supporter of ours and racing in general. Easter is quite early this year, but it’s super to have such a track like this at our disposal. There is a great covering of grass on it and we have the fences in place so it is all systems for Sunday.  This meeting enjoys quite a high profile and the fact that we have received 103 entries for six races reflects that. Quite a number of top-class horses have started their careers at Quakerstown – …

POINT-to-point action returns to the county this weekend with the East Clare Harriers’ hosting their annual meeting on the Flynn family lands at Garranboy, Killaloe. Always a well-supported fixture, Sunday’s meeting kicks off at 1pm with a six-year-old mares’ maiden and this will be followed by a winners’ race. The third event is a five and six-year-old geldings’ maiden while half an hour later runners will go to post for an older geldings’ maiden. The penultimate contest is an older mares’ maiden while a competitive mares’ open will close the card. Stamina will be at a premium on Sunday over what is an undulating, but fair track which will certainly take a bit of getting given the inclement weather we have experienced over the past few weeks. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s fixture, East Clare Hunt point-to-point secretary Gerry English revealed: “We are all set for a great day’s racing. The course is in tip-top shape and we are lucky that …